Songs That Changed the World--The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era: "If Today Was Your Last Day" by Nickelback

There's been a lot of songs with this theme, which should tell us that we should heed their theme.  There are indeed songs and songwriters today that "get it".  Here is Nickelback and "If Today Was Your Last Day".  Truer words have never been spoken.  

"If Today Was Your Last Day"

by Nickelback

Words and Music by Chad Kroeger


My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
If today was your last day

Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the prize is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you'll never live it twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
Would you call old friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories
Would you forgive your enemies?
Would you find that one you're dreamin' of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you finally fall in love
If today was your last day

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are
So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothin' stand in your way
Cause the hands of time are never on your side

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?

Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
Would you call old friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories
Would you forgive your enemies?
Would you find that one you're dreamin' of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you finally fall in love
If today was your last day 

This Date in Rock Music History: September 17

1931:  The first players to play 33 1/3 records were launched at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in New York City.
1955:  Tennessee Ernie Ford recorded "Sixteen Tons".
1955:  "Maybellene" by Chuck Berry logged week #7 at the top of the R&B chart.
1962:  The Beatles, Billy Kramer, the Coasters and Rory Storm and the Hurricanes played at the Queen's Hall in Widnes, Cheshire, England.
1964:  The Beatles were in concert at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
1966:  Wilson Pickett boogied up to #1 with "Land of 1000 Dances".
1966:  "Born Free" by Roger Williams was #1 on the Easy Listening chart.

1966:  The Supremes spent a second week at #1 with the original version of "You Can't Hurry Love".  The Beatles moved up to challenge with "Yellow Submarine", swapping places with "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan.  The Association were on the move (14-4) with "Cherish" while the Hollies' big hit "Bus Stop" stopped off at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  "See You in September" from the Happenings, Wilson Pickett was at position #7 with "Land of 1000 Dances", the Beach Boys entered the list with "Wouldn't It Be Nice", the Sandpipers were up to 9 with "Guantanamera" and Bobby Hebb had "Sunny".
1967:  The Doors performed "Light My Fire" and "People are Strange" on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1967:  The Who performed on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.  But that's just part of the story.  Drummer Keith Moon rigged his drumset to explode at the conclusion of "My Generation".  The result of the stunt was that Moon's leg was cut and Pete Townshend had permanent hearing loss. 
1968:  Diana Ross recorded "Love Child" without the other Supremes.
1972:  The Eagles were in concert at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida.

1973:  Billy Joel recorded "Piano Man".
1975:  Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada declared today "Guess Who Day" in honor of Canada's all-time top band.
1977:  20 Golden Greats by Diana Ross and the Supremes was the #1 album in the U.K.
1977:  Carly Simon remained at #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Nobody Does it Better".
1977:  Ronnie McDowell gave us a touching instant tribute to Elvis Presley who died in August.  He moved from 89 to 40 with "The King is Gone".

1977:  Andy Gibb reached #1 with his first single "I Just Want to Be Your Everything", holding off the Floaters and "Float On".  The four-week #1 "Best of My Love" from the Emotions was at #3 and James Taylor peaked at 4 with "Handy Man".  The rest of the Top 10:  Fleetwood Mac with the third hit from Rumours--"Don't Stop", K.C. & the Sunshine Band and "Keep It Comin' Love", the Brothers Johnson were up to 7 with "Strawberry Letter 23", ELO and "Telephone Line", the Sanford/Townsend Band had #9--"Smoke From a Distant Fire" and the London Symphony Orchestra reached #10 with the main title from the legendary movie Star Wars.

1977:  Rumours by Fleetwood Mac broke the all-time record for weeks at #1 on the album chart with 19 on this date.
1980:  The Bette Midler concert movie Divine Madness premiered in Los Angeles, California.
1983:  Vanessa Williams (Miss New York) was crowned Miss America.
1983:  Here's a good show--Def Leppard, Eddie Money, Motley Crue and Uriah Heap at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California.
1983:  Paul Young topped the U.K. album chart with No Parlez.

1983:  Prince had a hot song that moved from 55 to 37 on this date--"Delirious".

                         Newcomers Men Without Hats...


1983:  Michael Sembello remained at #1 with "Maniac" with Billy Joel climbing up with "Tell Her About It".  Men Without Hats were up to #3 with "The Safety Dance" and Bonnie Tyler's great song "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was going to be a serious factor in the weeks to come.  The rest of the Top 10:  two former 1's--the Eurythmics and "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) and "Every Break You Take" from the Police, Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" at #7, Taco with "Puttin' on the Ritz", Air Supply roared up from 15 to 9 with "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" and Asia cracked the Top 10 with "Don't Cry".
1983:  Synchronicity returned to #1 for the Police on the album chart, temporarily derailing Thriller by Michael Jackson.  The Soundtrack to "Flashdance" was third with Pyromania by Def Leppard logging a 33rd week on the chart.
1988:  Peter Cetera from Sun Valley, Idaho owned the #1 Adult Contemporary song for a third week with "One Good Woman".
1988:  Michael Jackson had the #1 R&B song with "Another Part of Me".
1988:  Hysteria sent a sixth week at #1 on the album chart for Def Leppard. 

1989:  Paula Abdul won an Emmy Award for Best Choreography for her work on The Tracey Ullman Show.
1991:  Guns N' Roses released the albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II.
1994:  Boyz II Men made it five weeks at #1 on the R&B chart with "I'll Make Love to You".

1994:  Boyz II Men owned the top song with "I'll Make Love to You", Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories were at #2 with "Stay (I Missed You)" and Changing Faces were going to "Stroke You Up".  Babyface was stuck at 4 with "When Can I See You" while John Mellencamp and Me'Shell NdegeOcello dropped with the remake of the Van Morrison song "Wild Night".  The rest of the Top 10:  Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey had a good remake of "Endless Love" that climbed from 31-6, Coolio's "Fantastic Voyage" was on its way down, Elton John was still in the Top 10 after 18 weeks with "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", Sheryl Crow's first big hit "All I Wanna' Do" joined the Top 10 and Warren G had "This D.J.". 
1995:  The Eagles performed at the Pond in Anaheim, California.
1997:  Fleetwood Mac began a reunion tour in Hartford, Connecticut.

2002:  Bono of U2 met with U.S. President George W. Bush to discuss giving more money towards AIDS initiatives.  Afterwards, Bono said "I'm not peddling a cause.  Seven thousand people dying per day is not a cause.  It's an emergency."  Bush did not increase funding.
2003:  David Lee Roth tried to be cute on stage and it cost him.  He attempted a 15th-century samurai move and the staff he was using hit him in the face.  Roth required 21 stitches and had to cancel the remainder of his tour, but no word on if it knocked some sense into him.
2006:  The Scissor Sisters owned the #1 song in the U.K. with "I Don't Feel Like Dancing".
2004:  Israeli police arrested two Madonna bodyguards after they assaulted photographers waiting for Madonna at her hotel.  Hooray for Israel!!
2008:  The United States Representatives passed a resolution honoring the late Isaac Hayes ("Theme From 'Shaft'") as a "passionate humanitarian".
2009:  John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival was given a Lifetime Award for Songwriting by the American Music Association.
2010:  Dick & Dee Dee ("The Mountain's High" from 1961) were inducted into the Mid-America Music Hall of Fame.


Born This Day:

1926:  Bill Black, famed bassist for Elvis Presley and leader of the Bill Black Combo, was born in Memphis, Tennessee; died of a brain tumor October 21, 1965.
1933:  Jeanine Deckers, aka The Singing Nun ("Dominique" in 1963), was born in Brussels, Belgium; died March 29, 1986 by committing suicide.

1939:  Lamonte McLemore, founder and vocalist with the Fifth Dimension, was born in St. Louis, Missouri.
1946:  David Williams, session guitarist who played on all of Michael Jackson's later albums, was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
1947:  Lol Creme of 10cc and Godley & Creme ("Cry") was born in Manchester, England.
1947:  Jim Hodder, drummer for Steely Dan and did session work for Sammy Hagar and David Soul; drowned in his swimming pool at the age of 42 on June 5, 1990.
1950:  Fee Waybill, vocalist of the Tubes ("She's a Beauty") was born in Omaha, Nebraska.
1962:  BeBe Winans was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1962:  Baz Luhrmann ("Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen") was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
1968:  Anastacia was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1970:  Vincent Brown of Naughty By Nature
1976:  Maile Misajon of Eden's Crush was born in Long Beach, California.
1979:  Chuck Comeau, drummer of Simple Plan, was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
1985:  Jonathan Jacob Walker, bassist of Panic at the Disco, was born in Chicago, Illinois.

Songs That Changed the World--The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era: "Sing" by the Carpenters

Ah, the power of the individual and their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

"Sing"

by the Carpenters

Words and Music by Joe Raposo

Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud
Sing out strong
Sing of good things not bad
Sing of happy not sad.

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not
Good enough for anyone
Else to hear
Just sing, sing a song.

Sing, sing a song
Let the world sing along
Sing of love there could be
Sing for you and for me.

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not
Good enough for anyone
Else to hear
Just sing, sing a song. 

This Date in Rock Music History: September 16

1959:  The Isley Brothers released the single "Shout".  It would not become immensely popular until years later--at the time it only reached #47!
1960:  Johnny Burnette recorded "You're Sixteen".
1963:  "She Loves You" by the Beatles was released by Swan Records in the United States and, despite being #1 in the U.K., was ignored until 1964 when the Beatles' invasion was well underway.
1964:  The Everly Brothers, the Righteous Brothers, Sam Cooke, Bobby Sherman, the Wellingtons and Alan Sues helped premiere the series Shindig! on ABC-TV.
1965:  The Dean Martin Show premiered on ABC-TV.  It would last 10 years.
1965:  The Rolling Stones, the Everly Brothers, the Byrds and the Kinks opened the second season of Shindig!
1966:  Pete Quafe left the Kinks.
1967:  The Beatles recorded "Your Mother Should Know" at Abbey Road Studios.

Felix Cavaliere gave one of the great vocal performances of the Rock Era

1967:  The Young Rascals moved up big (80 to 43) with "How Can I Be Sure".
1968:  The Turtles released the single "Elenore".
1970:  Jimi Hendrix performed for the final time, appearing with Eric Burdon and War at a London club.
1971:  Led Zeppelin played at the Honolulu Civic Club in Hawai'i.
1972:  The Eagles were in concert at the Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa, Florida.
1972:  Rod Stewart topped the U.K. album chart with Never A Dull Moment.
1972:  Mac Davis reached #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me".

                                  Chicago had a hot song...

1972:  Three Dog Night jumped from 9 to 1 with their 10th Top 10 and 14th hit--"Black and White".  Mac Davis was up with "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" and Gilbert O'Sullivan finally relinquished the #1 spot after six weeks with "Alone Again (Naturally)".  Chicago jumped from 10 to 4 with "Saturday in the Park".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Back Stabbers" from the O'Jays, the Hollies were on their way down with "Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress), Gary Glitter and "Rock and Roll Part 2", Looking Glass was at 8 with "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)", Elton John scored another Top 10 hit with "Honky Cat" and Al Green had "I'm Still in Love With You".
1974:  Monday's are of course the date that singles are released and if you look at a 1974 calendar, you'll see that Monday fell on September 16.  On that date, Bachman-Turner Overdrive released the 45 of "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet".
1977:  Marc Bolan, the wild frontman of T. Rex, died in a car accident at the age of 29.
1978:  Blondie performed in two shows at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

1979:  Don't Look Back reached #1 on the album chart for Boston.  They jumped over the Rolling Stones album Some Girls like it was standing still (which it was).  Foreigner stayed at 3 with Double Vision while the "Grease" Soundtrack was #4.

1985:  Mr. Mister released their first single "Broken Wings".


          They were not twins, nor were they named Thompson...

1985:  The Thompson Twins released the single "Lay Your Hands On Me".
1989:  U2 jammed with B.B. King on a boat that had been rented for King on his 64th birthday in Sydney Harbour in Australia.

                Madonna with one of her biggest career hits...

1989:  Gloria Estefan had the #1 song with "Don't Wanna' Lose You", Milli Vanilli had #2--"Girl I'm Gonna' Miss You" and Warrant was at 3 with "Heaven".  The rest of the Top 10:  New Kids on the Block and "Hangin' Tough", Surface with "Shower Me with Your Love", Paula Abdul's former #1 "Cold Hearted" was at #6, Cher's comeback song "If I Could Turn Back Time", Skid Row with "18 and Life", the Jeff Healey Band had song #9 with "Angel Eyes" and Madonna hit the Top 10 with "Cherish".

1989:  11 years after Saturday Night Fever and 31 years after they began their career, the Bee Gees reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "One".
1991:  Willie Nelson married makeup artist Ann-Marie D'Angelo.

1991:  Boyz II Men released the single "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday".
1992:  Barbra Streisand performed for the first time in six years at a fundraiser for the Democratic Party in the United States.
1993:  The home of Grace Slick of Jefferson Starship was destroyed by a fire.

1996:  Sheryl Crow released the single "If It Makes You Happy".
1997:  Usher released his second album My Way.

1998:  Mott the Hoople reunited for the first time in 24 years for a performance at the Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street in London.
2003:  Sheb Wooley ("The Purple People-Eater") died of leukemia at the age of 82.
2004:  Green Day performed their rock opera American Idiot during their show in Hollywood, California.
2004:  Izora Rhodes Armstead of the Weather Girls died of heart failure at the age of 62.  She also sang backup for C+C Music Factory and Sylvester.  
2004:  The coroner's report revealed that Rick James ("Superfreak") had nine drugs in his system when he died in August, including cocaine, methamphetamine, Valium and Vicodin.
2006:  Bill Berry, the original drummer of R.E.M., joined the band onstage for a performance honoring their induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.
2006:  Bob Dylan went to #1 on the album chart with Modern Times.
2008:  Norman Whitfield, songwriter and producer on such hits as "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Cloud Nine", "War", "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" and many others, died of diabetes and other illnesses in Los Angeles.

2009:  Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary died of leukemia at the age of 72.

Born This Day:

1925:  B.B. King was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi.
1941:  Joe Butler of Lovin' Spoonful was born in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
1942:  Bernie Calvert, bass guitarist for the Hollies, was born in Brierfield, England.
1944:  Betty Kelley of Martha and the Vandellas was born in Attalla, Alabama.

1948:  Kenny Jones, drummer for the Faces and later the Who, was born in London.
1950:  David Bellamy of the Bellamy Brothers ("Let Your Love Flow" from 1976) was born in Darby, Florida.
1952:  Ron Blair, bass guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, was born in Macon, Georgia.

1963:  Richard Marx was born in Chicago, Illinois.


1968:  Marc Anthony was born in New York City.
1976:  Tina Barrett of S Club 7 was born in Hammersmith, London, England.
1977:  Musiq Soulchild (Talib Johnson) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1992:  Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers was born in Dallas, Texas.

Hits List: Little River Band

One of the great bands of the 70's and 80's was this one right here from Australia.  It's interesting that although the group was launched in their native country, Australia largely missed the boat on some of their best songs.  Here is their complete Hits List:

1975:  "Curiosity (Killed the Cat)" (#15 Australia)
           "Emma" (#20 Australia)
           "It's a Long Way There" (#28, #35 Australia)
           "I'll Always Call Your Name" (#62)
1976:  "Everyday of My Life" (#29 Australia)
           "Broke Again"
1977:  "Help Is On Its Way" (#14, #1 Australia)
           "Witchery" (#33 Australia)
           "Home On Monday" (#73 Australia)
           "Happy Anniversary" (#16)



1978:  "Shut Down Turn Off" (#16 Australia)
           "Reminiscing" (#3, #35 Australia)
           "So Many Paths"
           "Lady" (#10, #7 Adult Contemporary, #46 Australia)
1979:  "Lonesome Loser" (#6, #19 Australia)
           "Cool Change" (#10)
1980:  "It's Not a Wonder" (live) (#51)
1981:  "The Night Owls" (#6, #18 Australia)
           "Take It Easy On Me" (#10, #14 AC)
           "Man On Your Mind" (#14, #26 AC)



1982:  "The Other Guy" (#11, #6 AC, #18 Australia)
           "Down on the Border" (#7 Australia)
           "St. Louis" (#43 Australia)
1983:  "We Two" (#22, #17 AC, #49 Australia)
           "You're Driving Me Out of My Mind" (#35 AC)
1985:  "Playing To Win" (#60, #59 Australia)
           "Blind Eyes"
1986:  "Faces in the Crowd"
           "When the War Is Over"
           "No Reins On Me" (#73 Australia)
           "Paper Paradise"
1988:  "Love Is a Bridge" (#6 Australia)
           "Son of a Famous Man" (#62 Australia)
           "Soul Searching" (#52 Australia)
1990:  "Every Time I Turn Around" (#27 AC)
           "If I Get Lucky" (#22 AC, #75 Australia)

That's eight hits with half of those Top 10 and 12 Adult Contemporary hits with two Top 10's.

Hits List: Chic

This group burned up the dance floor in the late 70's.  We feature the Hits List of Chic:




1977:  "Dance, Dance Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) (#6, #6 R&B, #1 Dance, #11 Ireland, #6 U.K.)
           "Everybody Dance" (#38, #12 R&B, #6 Ireland, #9 U.K.)



1978:  "Le Freak" (#1, #1 R&B, #1 Dance, #48 Adult Contemporary, #20 Ireland, #7 U.K.)
           "I Want Your Love" (#7, #5 R&B, #1 Dance, #9 AC, #20 Ireland, #4 U.K.)
1979:  "Good Times" (#1, #1 R&B, #3 Dance, #26 AC, #21 Ireland, #5 U.K.)
           "My Forbidden Lover" (#43, #33 R&B, #3 Dance, #28 Ireland, #15 U.K.)
           "My Feet Keep Dancing" (#42 R&B, #3 Dance, #18 Ireland, #21 U.K.)
1980:  "Rebels Are We" (#61, #8 R&B, #29 Dance)
           "Real People/Chip Off the Old Block" (#79, #51 R&B, #29 Dance)
1981:  "Stage Fright" (#34 R&B)

1982:  "Soup for One" (#80, #14 R&B)
           "Hangin'" (#48 R&B, #64 U.K.)
1983:  "Give Me the Lovin'" (#57 R&B)
1984:  "You Are Beautiful"
           "Party Everybody"
           "Chic Cheer" (#81 U.K.)
1987:  "Jack Le Freak" (#15 Dance, #13 Ireland, #19 U.K.)
1988:  "Good Times" (remix)
1990:  "Mega Chic-Chic Medley" (#58 U.K.)
1992:  "Chic Mystique" (#48 R&B, #1 Dance, #48 U.K.)
           "Your Love" (#3 Dance)

Hits List: Peter Cetera

Cetera was a singer/songwriter and bassist for one of America's top groups, Chicago, before launching a successful solo career.  These days, of course, he lives in Sun Valley, Idaho, one of the world's most beautiful locations (and certainly where the "beautiful people" hang out...).  Here is the complete solo Hits List for Mr. Cetera:

1982:  "Livin' in the Limelight" (#6 Mainstream Rock)
1983:  "Hold Me 'Til the Morning Comes (with Paul Anka) (#40, #2 Adult Contemporary)



1986:  "Glory of Love" (#1, #1 Adult Contemporary, #3 U.K.)
           "The Next Time I Fall" (with Amy Grant) (#1, #1 AC)
1987:  "Big Mistake" (#61)
           "Only Love Knows Why" (#24 AC)
1988:  "One Good Woman" (#4, #1 AC)
           "Best of Times" (#59, #22 AC)
           "You Never Listen To Me" (#32 Mainstream)



1992:  "Restless Heart" (#35, #1 AC)
1993:  "Feels Like Heaven" (with Chaka Khan) (#71, #5 AC)
           "Even a Fool Can See" (#68, #3 AC)
1995:  "(I Wanna' Take) Forever Tonight" (with Crystal Bernard) (#86, #22 AC)
1996:  "One Clear Voice" (#12 AC)
           "Faithfully" (#13 AC)
1997:  "You're the Inspiration" (#77, #29 AC)
           "Do You Love Me That Much" (#6 AC)
1998:  "She Doesn't Need Me Anymore" (#27 AC)



2001:  "Perfect World" (#21)
2005:  "You Just Gotta' Love Christmas" (#39 AC)
           "Something That Santa Claus Left Behind" (#37 AC)

That's 17 hits on the Adult Contemporary chart for Cetera, with seven of those Top 10 and three going all the way to #1.

Songs That Changed the World--The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era: "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" by Johnny Rivers

Johnny Rivers took a popular folk song and made it better.  From flowers to young girls to husbands to soldiers to graveyards to flowers.  And repeat ad nauseum.  

"Where Have All the Flowers Gone"

by Johnny Rivers

The lines "Where are the flowers, the girls have plucked them. Where are the girls, they've all taken husbands. Where are the men, they're all in the army" are from the traditional Cossacks folk song "Tovchu, tovchu mak".  Pete Seeger adapted them and wrote the first three verses; Joe Hickerson completed the song that you hear from Johnny Rivers. 

Where have all the flowers gone
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone
Young girls pick them every one
When will they ever learn
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone
Taken husbands, every one
When will they ever learn
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone
A long, long time ago
Where have all the young men gone
Gone to soldiers every one
When will they ever learn
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the soilders gone
Long time passing
Where have all the soilders gone
Long time ago
Where have all the soilders gone
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone
Gone to flowers
When will they ever learn
When will they ever learn?

This Date in Rock Music History: September 15

1956:  Elvis Presley's monumental double-sided hit "Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel" was the #1 song on the R&B chart.
1961:  The Pendletones of Hawthorne, California recorded the song "Surfin'" at Hite Morgan's recording studio in Los Angeles.  The song would have a big influence on their career as the Beach Boys, as they were later known.

1962:  "Ramblin' Rose" by Nat King Cole was #1 on the Easy Listening chart.
1962:  "Green Onions" from Booker T. & the MG's was #1 on the R&B chart.

1962:  The 4 Seasons set a then-chart record by moving from #11 to #1 with "Sherry"--it still is the fifth-biggest jump to #1 in the Rock Era.  "Sheila" by Tommy Roe had to take a back seat to "Sherry".  Nat King Cole's "Ramblin Rose" was #3 and the former #1 from Little Eva--"The Loco-Motion" was #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Booker T. & the MG's moved from 22-5 with their incredible instrumental "Green Onions", Elvis Presley was at 6 with his 57th hit "She's Not You", Rick Nelson shorted his name but not his career as he was up to #7 with "Teen Age Idol", Ray Charles slipped with "You Don't Know Me", Dickey Lee had song #9--"Patches" and Baby Cortez reached the Top 10 with "Rinky Dink".
1964:  The Beatles were ordered off the stage at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio by authorities so the screaming crowd could calm down.
1965:  Frankie Avalon was on The Patty Duke Show on ABC.
1966:  Small Faces had the #1 song in the U.K. with "All Or Nothing".
1968:  The Doors were forced to perform without Jim Morrison in Amsterdam, Holland after their lead singer collapsed while dancing during Jefferson Airplane's show.
1968:  Lou Rawls hosted the television special Soul with guests Martha and the Vandellas on NBC.
1968:  Barbra Streisand starred in the television special A Happening in Central Park on CBS.
1969:  Deep Purple performed "Concerto for Rock Band and Orchestra" with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall in London.
1970:  Republican Vice-President Spiro Agnew of the United States said in a speech that the youth of America were being "...brainwashed into a drug culture" by rock music, movies, books and underground newspapers.
1972:  The Eagles were live at the Sportatorium in Miami, Florida.
1973:  Marvin Gaye held on to #1 on the R&B chart for a fifth week with "Let's Get It On".

1973:  Helen Reddy moved to #1 with "Delta Dawn".
1974:  Gary Thain of Uriah Heap barely escaped electrocution on stage during a Heap concert in Dallas, Texas.
1975:  Pink Floyd released the album Wish You Were Here in the U.K.
1975:  John Denver released the great album Windsong.

1975:  Linda Ronstadt released the album Prisoner in Disguise.
1975:  After several false starts amid being improperly hyped, Bruce Springsteen finally released his first single "Born to Run" on this date--Monday, September 15, 1975.
1977:  The Rolling Stones released the album Love You Live.
1978:  Bob Dylan began a 62-city tour in Augusta, Maine.

1979:  Bob Dylan released one of the best albums of his career--Slow Train Coming.

            Led Zep shows great versatility here on "Hot Dog"...

1979:  In Through the Out Door took just two weeks to get to #1, jumping from 10 to 1 for Led Zeppelin.  One of the group's finest career albums toppled Get the Knack from the Knack.  Candy-O by the Cars came in third while Breakfast in America hadn't fallen further than #4 in its 25th week.  The rest of the Top 10:  Million Mile Reflections from Charlie Daniels Band, Chic & Risque, I Am by Earth, Wind & Fire, Midnight Magic, the breakthrough album by the Commodores, speaking of breakthroughs, Michael Jackson moved from 23-9 with Off the Wall and the hilarious Robin Williams had #10 with Reality...What a Concept.

                 The CDB reached #1 in several markets

1979:  The Knack tightened their grip on #1 with "My Sharona".  Earth, Wind & Fire edged up to 2 and the Charlie Daniels Band reached #3 with "The Devil Went Down to Georgia".  ELO remained at 4 with "Don't Bring Me Down" while Maxine Nightingale had song #5--"Lead Me On".  The rest of the Top 10:  Robert John and "Sad Eyes", the Little River Band with "Lonesome Loser", Dionne Warwick was up to #8 with "I'll Never Love This Way Again", Chic tumbled with "Good Times" and the Commodores reached the Top 10 for the sixth time with "Sail On".
1980:  With immeasurable help from Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, Barbra Streisand released her great album Guilty.
1982:  Queen was in concert at the Inglewood Forum in Inglewood, California.

1984:  Tina Turner had the #1 song for the third week with "What's Love Got to Do With It".
1984:  Purple Rain, which had taken over from Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen, was #1 for the seventh week for Prince.  Sports was #3 after 50 weeks, Private Dancer #4 for Tina Turner, the Cars stopped at 5 with Heartbeat City and Lionel Richie at #6 with Can't Slow Down.  They do not get better than that top six--you can compare them to nearly any other time in the Rock Era.  The rest of the Top 10:  Out of the Cellar from Ratt, 1100 Bel Air Place by Julio Iglesias, the Soundtrack to "Ghostbusters" and Victory by the Jacksons.

1986:  Sun Valley, Idaho's Peter Cetera teamed up with Amy Grant for the release of the single "Next Time I Fall".
1988:  Though they were to reform three years later, Mark Knopfler announced the end of Dire Straits.
1990:  Bruce Hornsby filled in on keyboards for the Grateful Dead after the death of Brent Mydland.
1990:  Steve Miller had the #1 song in the U.K. with "The Joker", which had been released 17 years previously but had recently been featured in ads for jeans.
1990:  George Michael's great album Listen Without Prejudice was on top in the U.K.

1990:  Alias moved from 84 to 61 with "More Than Words Can Say".
1990:  Wilson Phillips had the top AC song with "Release Me".

1990:  Wilson Phillips climbed the final rung to #1 with "Release Me".
1994:  A reel to reel tape which captured the Quarrymen live at St. Peter's Parish Church in Liverpool, England in July of 1957 sold for $125,000 at a Sotheby's auction.
1998:  Coolio was arrested for possessing marijuana and carrying a concealed weapon.
2002:  The Dixie Chicks owned the top album with Home.
2003:  ABBA overtook Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the most tributed act in the Rock Era with more ABBA tribute acts performing than for any other artist.
2004:  Johnny Ramone, guitarist for the Ramones, died of prostate cancer in Los Angeles at the age of 55.
2004:  Alan Jackson had the #1 album with What I Do.
2006:  The Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool, England was given a Grade II listed building status as recommended by the English Heritage.  The Casbah was where the Beatles performed in their early years.  You see, Europe preserves its famous buildings rather than tear them down.
2008:  Rick Wright, founding member and keyboardist for Pink Floyd, died at the age of 65 from cancer.
2009:  Bobby Rydell was arrested for driving under the influence after he crashed his car in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania.


Born This Day:
1928:  Cannonball Adderley ("Mercy, Mercy, Mercy") was born in Tampa, Florida; died August 8, 1975.
1933:  Pat Barrett of the Crewcuts
1938:  Jimmy Gilmer ("Sugar Shack") was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1941:  Signe Anderson, the original lead singer of Jefferson Airplane, was born in Seattle, Washington.
1941:  Les Braid, bass guitarist of the Swinging Blue Jeans ("Hippy Hippy Shake") was born in Liverpool, England.
1942:  Lee Dorman, bassist and keyboardist of Iron Butterfly and also a member of Captain Beyond, was born in St. Louis, Missouri; died Laguna Niguel, California of natural causes.
1946:  Ola Brunkert, drummer of ABBA, was born in Orebro, Sweden; was found dead in his home in Majorca, Spain on March 17th, 2008 after hitting his head against a glass door in the dining room. 
1955:  Steve Berlin, saxophonist and keyboardist of Los Lobos, and as either a session musician or producer has worked with Sheryl Crow, R.E.M., Rickie Lee Jones, the Crash Test Dummies, John Lee Hooker, Faith No More, the Smithereens and others, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
1960:  Mitch Dorge, drummer with the Crash Test Dummies ("Mmmm Mmm Mmm Mmm"), was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
1976:  Ivette Sosa of Eden's Crush was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
1977:  Paul Thomson, drummer of Franz Ferdinand, was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

Discography: ELO

The unique sound of this British group propelled them to becoming one of the top groups of the 1970's.  Here is the Discography for ELO:



1971:  Electric Light Orchestra (U.K.)/No Answer (U.S.) (#196, #32 U.K.)
1972:  ELO 2 (U.K.)/Electric Light Orchestra II (U.S.) (#62, #35 U.K.)
1973:  On the Third Day (#52, #10 Australia)
1974:  Eldorado (#16, #40 Australia, #4 Netherlands)
1975:  Face the Music (#8, #30 Australia, #11 Netherlands)
1976:  A New World Record (#5, #6 U.K., #1 Australia, #2 Netherlands)
1977:  Out of the Blue (#4, #4 U.K., #3 Australia, #3 Netherlands)



1979:  Discovery (#5, #1 U.K., #1 Australia, #6 Netherlands)
1981:  Time (#16, #1 U.K., #2 Australia, #2 Netherlands)
1983:  Secret Messages (#36, #4 U.K., #11 Australia, #7 Netherlands)
1986:  Balance of Power (#49, #9 U.K., #29 Australia)
2001:  Zoom (#94, #34 U.K., #51 Australia, #46 Netherlands)

Live Albums:
1974:  The Night the Light Went On in Long Beach
1998:  Live At Wembley '78
           Live at Winterland '76
1999:  Live at the BBC

Compilations:
1976:  Ole ELO (#36)
1977:  The Light Shines On 
1978:  Three Light Years (#38)
1979:  ELO's Greatest Hits (#30, #7 U.K.) 
1989:  The Very Best of the Electric Light Orchestra (#28 U.K.)
1994:  The Very Best of the Electric Light Orchestra (#4 U.K.)
1997:  Light Years:  The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra (#60 U.K.)



2001:  The Ultimate Collection (#18 U.K.)
2005:  All Over the World:  The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra (#6 U.K.)

Songs That Changed the World--The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era: "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2

It should be obvious to all that Martin Luther King had it right.  When a band like U2 in Ireland can hear his message, you know the things he stood for were profound and life-changing.  Sure, some people felt threatened by King but we now see that those people were insignificant compared to King and the larger goal--the pureness of spirit that he stood for.  For it's not the individual but the idea that is important.  King's dream lives on and in fact is being lived, despite what you may read or hear in the media.

"Pride (In the Name of Love)"

by U2

Words by Bono, Music by Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr.

One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One man come here to justify
One man to overthrow

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed on an empty beach
One man betrayed with a kiss

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love 

This Date in Rock Music History: September 14

1955:  Little Richard recorded "Tutti Frutti" in a New Orleans recording studio.

1959:  Sandy Nelson made what still is the 20th-biggest leap of the Rock Era, jumping from 84 to 28, with "Teen Beat".
1959:  "The Three Bells" from the Browns was #1 for the fourth week in a row.  The instrumental "Sleep Walk" came in #2 followed by Lloyd Price and "I'm Gonna' Get Married".  Phil Phillips had the original "Sea of Love" and the Everly Brothers were fifth with "('Til) I Kissed You".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Red River Rock", another instrumental, was #6 from Johnny & the Hurricanes, "Broken-Hearted Melody" from Sarah Vaughan, Fats Domino with "I Want to Walk You Home", Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife" moved from 24-9 while Jan & Dean entered the list with "Baby Talk".
1963:  Although most of us wouldn't know them until their hit "Back Stabbers" nine years later, the O'Jays first charted on this date with the single "Lonely Drifter".

1963:  "She Loves You" by the Beatles became the #1 song in the U.K.  It would remain as the biggest-selling single until 1977.
1963:  "Heat Wave" by Martha & the Vandellas took over at #1 on the R&B chart.
1963:  The Ronettes moved from 55 to 20 with "Be My Baby".
1966:  Otis Redding was in concert at the Orchid Ballroom in Purley, Surrey, England.
1967:  The Jimi Hendrix Experience was on the British television show Top of the Pops.
1968:  The Archies cartoon series debuted on CBS-TV.
1968:  Pete Townshend of the Who told Rolling Stone magazine he was working on a rock opera about a deaf, dumb and blind boy.
1968:  Roy Orbison's house in Nashville, Tennessee burned to the ground.  Orbison was touring the U.K. at the time but his two oldest songs both died in the fire.


1968:  The Doors held on to #1 on the album chart with Waiting for the Sun.  Time Peace/The Rascals' Greatest Hits, Wheels of Fire from Cream and Feliciano! by Jose Feliciano were stuck in their respective positions.  The rest of the Top 10:  Realization by Johnny Rivers, the self-titled Steppenwolf, the former #1 album Disraeli Gears by Cream, now in its 41st week, Are You Experienced? by Jimi Hendrix Experience was #8, Aretha Now from Aretha Franklin was #9 and "The Graduate" Soundtrack moved back into the Top 10.

       The great group Deep Purple entered the Top 10

1968:  The Rascals remained at the top spot with "People Got to Be Free", the fifth week at #1 for the song.  Jeannie C. Riley was determined with "Harper Valley P.T.A.", Jose Feliciano's version of "Light My Fire" peaked at #3 and Steppenwolf was down with "Born to Be Wild".  The rest of the Top 10:  "1,2,3, Red Light" by the sugary 1910 Fruitgum Company, Aretha Franklin and "The House That Jack Built", Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell edged up with "You're All I Need to Get By", Deep Purple was up strong (13-8) with "Hush", the Doors' former #1 "Hello, I Love You" and the Beatles made history with the highest debut ever (#10) for "Hey Jude".
1969:  Genesis performed in concert for the first time in Surrey, England at the home of Peter Gabriel's Sunday school teacher.

1970:  A new group was about to make some noise that would influence the Rock Era for decades.  On this date, the Jackson 5 released their first single "I'll Be There".
1970:  Stevie Wonder married Syreeta Wright, a former secretary at Motown Records.
1974:  Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Joni Mitchell, Joe Walsh, the Band and Jesse Colin Young performed at Wembley Stadium in London.

1974:  Olivia Newton John rose to #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "I Honestly Love You".



1974:  Stevie Wonder's great album Fulfillingness' First Finale reached #1 after just six weeks.  The debut from Bad Company was #2 followed by the previous #1--461 Ocean Boulevard from Eric Clapton.  Endless Summer from the Beach Boys jumped from 9-4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Rags to Rufus from Rufus, Olivia Newton-John was up from 21 to 6 with If You Love Me, Let Me Know, Bachman-Turner Overdrive II was #7, Marvin Gaye Live! came in eighth, Chicago VII was up and Caribou by Elton John closed out the list.
1976:  Bob Dylan starred in the television special Hard Rain on NBC.
1976:  Jeff Beck was awarded a gold record for his album Wired.
1978:  The Grateful Dead played a concert at the foot of the Great Pyramid in Egypt.

1979:  Kenny Rogers earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1979:  The movie Quadrophenia, based on the Who's 1973 rock opera.
1981:  Pink Floyd began work on the movie The Wall.
1983:  Metallica debuted their new song "Disposable Heroes" at the Metal Hammer festival in Germany.

1983:  Band leader Perez Prado ("Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" from 1955) died in Mexico City, Mexico at the age of 72.
1985:  Bette Midler and Dan Aykroyd co-hosted the first MTV Awards.  You might wonder what MTV has to do with music?  Back then, it stood for "Music Television" instead of "Mundane Television".
1985:  Kool & the Gang reached #1 on the R&B chart with "Cherish".

1985:  "Cherish" by Kool & the Gang spent a fourth week at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1989:  Perez Prado ("Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" from 1955) died in Mexico City, Mexico at the age of 72.
1991:  Metallica remained at #1 on the album chart with their self-titled album (commonly called The Black Album).  Natalie Cole was still at #2 with Unforgettable with Love while another great album from Bonnie Raitt--Luck of the Draw came in third.  C.M.B. from Color Me Badd was #4 and Boyz II Men were harmonizing their way up with Cooleyhighharmony.  The rest of the Top 10:  For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge by Van Halen, Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band debuted at #7 with The Fire Inside, Time, Love & Tenderness from Michael Bolton was #8, C+C Music Factory's Gonna' Make You Sweat and Paula Abdul was on her way down with Spellbound.

1991:  Paula Abdul had released nine songs and "The Promise of a New Day" gave her the sixth #1 of her career on this date.  Color Me Badd was up strong with "I Adore Mi Amor".  Bryan Adams finally fell from the top after seven weeks there with "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You".  Boyz II Men dropped with "Motownphilly" and C+C Music Factory were at 5 with "Things That Make You Go Hmmmm...".  
1991:  Adults made "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams #1 for a seventh week on the AC chart.
1992:  P.M. Dawn released the single "I'd Die Without You".
1993:  Prince released the box set The Hits/The B-Sides.
1993:  Thomas Kaye, keyboard player for Jay & the Americans, died in Warwick, New York.

1994:  The Temptations received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1995:  Nine Inch Nails and David Bowie performed in Hartford, Connecticut.

1995:  Earth, Wind & Fire received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1995:  The handwritten lyrics to the song "Getting Better" by the Beatles fetched $249,000 at a Sotheby's auction.

1996:  Los Del Rio spent a seventh week at #1 with "Macarena" and it was nowhere near done.  The only new Top 10 song was "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" from Celine Dion, which moved from 12 to 7.
1997:  Pete Townshend unveiled an English Heritage Blue Plaque at 23 Brook Street, Mayfair London, the location where Jimi Hendrix lived in 1968 and 1969.  Hendrix was the first rock star to be awarded with the Plaque.
1998:  Metallica began work on the album Garage Inc.
1999:  The Strokes debuted at the Spiral in New York City.
2000:  Sheryl Crow, Paul Simon, Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Crosby, Stills & Nash performed at a fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
2002:  Gwen Stefani of No Doubt married Gavin Rossdale of Bush at St. Paul's church in London.
2003:  Britney Spears made a surprise appearance at Palms Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2003:  Gerry Marsden from Gerry & the Pacemakers had triple heart bypass surgery.

2003:  Mary J. Blige had the #1 album with Love & Life.
2005:  Kanye West had the top album with Late Registration.
2006:  Marianne Faithfull announced she was being treated for breast cancer.
2007:  The movie Across the Universe, inspired by the Beatles' song, opened in theaters.
2008:  Metallica had the #1 album in the U.K. with Death Magnetic.
2010:  Patti Labelle joined the cast of the musical Fella.


Born This Day:
1914:  Mae Boren Axton, who wrote "Heartbreak Hotel", was born in Bardwell, Texas.
1946:  Pete Agnew of Nazareth was born in Dunfermline, Scotland.
1947:  John "Bowser" Bauman of Sha Na Na was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1949:  Steve Gaines, guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd, was born in Seneca, Missouri.

1950:  Paul Kossoff of the group Free was born in Hampstead, England; died March 19, 1976 of drug-related heart problems while on a flight from Los Angeles to New York City.
1954:  Barry Cowsill of the Cowsills was born in Newport, Rhode Island; died in September, 2005 in New Orleans, Louisiana as a result of Hurricane Katrina (Cowsill had been reported missing before his body was discovered December 28 from the Chartres Street Wharf.) 
1955:  Steve Berlin of Los Lobos was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1959:  Morten Harket of A-Ha was born in Kongsberg, Norway.
1969:  Kay Gee of Naughty by Nature
1970:  Craig Montoya, bass guitarist of Everclear, was born in Spokane, Washington
1973:  Nas was born in Long Island, Queens, New York.
1981:  Ashley Roberts of the Pussycat Dolls was born in Phoenix, Arizona.
1983:  Amy Winehouse was born in Southgate, London ; died July 23, 2011.